Senior Lead Program Manager

Cox Enterprises • Atlanta, GA

15d • Hybrid

About The Position

About Cox Automotive Cox Automotive Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is a global leader in automotive services with more than 50,000 employees worldwide. We deliver innovative products and solutions that transform the way people buy, sell, own, and use vehicles. Our Solution Delivery Enterprise Management team is seeking an experienced Senior Lead Program Manager to lead complex, high‑impact technology initiatives. This role requires strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills, with deep experience in Agile delivery and managing large, cross‑functional program structures. What You'll Do: The Senior Lead Program Manager oversees large-scale, high‑risk IT and Operations programs involving multiple delivery systems and cross-functional teams. This role ensures alignment between Enterprise Technology, Product, Business, and other partners to achieve business outcomes. The ideal candidate will be a proactive, strategic problem solver who excels at navigating complexity, managing dependencies, and driving successful delivery.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 6 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 3 years’ experience in a related field; or 20 years’ experience in a related field
• 5+ years in Technology/Security and M&A projects
• 3+ years’ experience leading SAFe agile teams, or equivalent program management experience on large complex agile projects/programs.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, negotiation, mentoring and personnel management skills.
• Demonstrated experience running multiple large scale, complex technology projects or programs.
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills (both verbal and written).

Nice To Haves

• PMP certification (Preferred)
• Experience with Smartsheet preferred.

Responsibilities

• M&A Program Leadership Lead and manage integration and separation activities for large-scale mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
• Support due diligence efforts, evaluating operational, technical, financial, and strategic elements of potential deals.
• Develop and execute integration and separation plans, including timelines, resources, risk strategies, and key milestones.
• Coordinate with Finance, Legal, IT, HR, Product, and external stakeholders to ensure cohesive execution.
• Oversee budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling related to M&A program work.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal policies throughout transaction activities.
• Program Delivery & Governance Provide clear program vision, direction, and communication to core teams and stakeholders.
• Plan, track, and report on scope, schedule, cost, risks, and change control across all assigned programs.
• Identify, analyze, and mitigate risks or impacts to employees, customers, and business operations.
• Manage stakeholder relationships across IT and business organizations.
• Drive communication and change management activities to support successful transitions.
• Process Improvement & Methodology Provide recommendations to refine PM methodologies and enhance existing M&A processes.
• Lead teams through complex problem-solving across multiple departments and delivery systems.
• Ensure creation and delivery of high-quality PM artifacts in alignment with approved methodologies.
• AI Governance & Adoption Ensure teams follow organizational AI standards and maintain delivery resilience with or without AI tools.
• Lead AI adoption by modeling effective human‑AI collaboration and supporting change efforts.
• Use AI-driven insights to evaluate program performance, forecast capacity, and enhance predictability and quality.
• Leverage AI to streamline complex messaging and improve communication effectiveness.

Benefits

• The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members.
• Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.
• Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO).
• For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior